Target pours money into mattress startup Casper after sale falls through

Target is betting big on mattresses in the mail.

The big box chain is investing $75 million in bedding delivery startup Casper as it looks to bolster its e-commerce offerings in the face of the tanking brick-and-mortar market, Recode reported Thursday.

A source familiar with the deal confirmed that amount.

Casper has sought to upend a $14 billion industry with foam mattresses that are folded into ultra-compact packages for shipping. Before now, it'd raised nearly $70 million in venture capital.

Target was reported to be considering a billion-dollar acquisition of Casper earlier this month, but talks seem to have fallen through. The fast-growing startup was last valued at more than $500 million in 2015.

"Target invested in Casper because we believe in their team, their ideas and their vision for reimagining sleep," a Target spokesperson said.

The investment seems to be part of Target's bigger push to regain some of the ground it's lost as online shopping and bargain retail competitors ate into its market share.

The company has also locked down partnerships with online-only shaving brands Harry's and Bevel that give it exclusive rights to sell their products in stores.

Beyond digital partnerships, Target is launching a series of new in-house clothing and home brands in coming months in a bid to reclaim the cheap-chic cachet on which the retailer first made its name.